“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett choreographed a homophobic, racist attack against himself with the help of two brothers he knew, in an attempt to raise his profile because he was dissatisfied with the salary he was making, police said Thursday.

Smollett, who is gay and black, staged the Jan. 29 attack to look like a hate crime, to take "advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career," said Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.

"First Smollett attempted to gain attention by sending a false letter that relied on racial homophobic and political language. When that didn’t work, Smollett paid $3,500 to stage this attack... The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary so he concocted a story about being attacked."